Is your home right for your choice of business?
Before considering starting your home-based business, you need to determine if you have the necessary space needed to operate your business. If you live in a condo or an apartment, there may be restrictions as to what you can and cannot do in your business. There might be zoning requirements to be considered. There is also some liability exposure for some types of businesses. You may need additional insurance to protect your self.
Distractions of working at home
Working from home can be distracting, especially if you have children. You're not working; you're at home, so your children can burst in with their complaints about their siblings, to complain about problems at school or to announce they need a new bike.
An at-home business changes everything. You need to alter your lifestyle and your family must be supportive in order for you to succeed. You might need to convert the basement into your home-office. Maybe this used to be the place where your kids and their friends used to gather after school.
If your business requires use of the phone, and you don't have an extra line, it will be important that the children understand that they will not be able to spend the amount of time on the phone that they used to. Also consider that your phone will be ringing outside of regular business hours.
At at-home business affects the entire family; everyone in the household will need to be supportive and to recognize that the rules have changed.
Can you do it all?
As an entrepreneur, you will need sales skills and marketing skills to reach your target market and sell your product and services. Every business depends on sales in order to grow and expand. In a home-based business, success depends on your skills and talents. You need to have a good business plan, a marketing plan and a sales strategy. You will need to develop a customer base and maybe even negotiate a line of credit to finance your business.
When you work from home, you are often the boss, secretary, receptionist and business planner while being a parent too. There is no office cleaning service to empty waste cans and maintain the office equipment. If you have a fax machine and copier, you change the toner cartridges and pay for a service contract to keep it working properly. There is no supply cabinet that is magically replenished as you run out of paper, pens, white-out, file folders, etc… It is all up to you to maintain your office supplies and equipment while running your business.
When you operate a home-based business, your success depends on you alone. There is no supervisor to consult with on a difficult project. There are no other employees to have lunch with or visit with in the break-room.
© Bill Bartmann, Billionaire Business Systems
About the Author:
Bill Bartmann is a self-made billionaire who went from homeless at the age of 14 to
becoming a billionaire, going bankrupt, then bouncing back to do it again! Bill has had his self-doubts and even bouts of depression; he wouldn't be human otherwise. However, when self-esteem is strong and you're clear about your values, then you can bounce back from the lows; each time, you bounce back just a little bit higher. Bring out the Billionaire in you; visit
http://www.billionaireu.com/
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304
Date Published :
Mar 13 2009